toward a possible presidential run. bill: the south carolina native has put optimism and hope at the center of his message. leaning heavily on his own ration to riches story or as he says cotton to congress in one lifetime. rise to the dream in what could be a crowded republican field. sandra: and welcome back as america reports rolls into a busy second hour, a lot of news expected. bill, good to be here with you. bill: good to be with you as well. i m bill melugin coming up in this hour, but it is a busy day in washington and massachusetts, law enforcement are circling in on the man believed to be behind the pentagon leaks. sandra: any moment now you are looking live at the pentagon, leaders are expected to face questions from reporters on this highly classified intelligence leak. what we know so far. a law enforcement source telling fox the fbi is searching for a member of the massachusetts air national guard in connection to the leak, adding they are not naming h
Defense under text for personal re readiness and nuclear and defense programs. This is almost two hours. Good morning. Services Committee Meets today to consider the nominations of mark t esper to be secretary of the army, well key for under secretary of defense for readiness, kernan to be intelligence, and guy rod insurance for Nuclear Chemical and biological defense weapons. I would like to say that i have been pleased with the reaction of the secretary of defense and the administration being cooperative in responding to our questions and to our ability to carry out our responsibilities on the Defense Authorization bill. I think that the most members were happy with the briefing that we received concerning the actions on the uss mccain and others. And so we are glad to begin this hearing. We thank all of you for joining us this morning. We welcome your family and friends with us today. As is our tradition at the beginning of your testimony, we invite you to introduce those who are jo
Mark esper, secretary of the army. Heather wilson, secretary of the air force, and james gurts, assistant secretary of the navy for Research Development and acquisition. Acquisition reform is one of the most important and frustrating topics this committee addresses. For years, we have been warned that america is losing its technological advantage. I hope you all have seen the work by rand on this topic. That is why the department of defense needs acquisition reform. Not just for efficiency or to save money. Simply put, we will not be able to address the threats facing this nation with the system of organized irresponsibility that the defense acquisition enterprise has become. I want the witnesses to Pay Attention here, okay . Were still dealing with a trilliondollar f35 program that continues to operate in dysfunction. The air force still subsidizes ula for space launch with costplus fixed fee contracts. The army has sunk nearly 6. 5 billion into wint. And that work that doesnt work. A
The Senate Arms Services Committee Meets today to receive testimony on the acquisition reform efforts. We welcome our witnesses, ellen lord, mark esper, secretary of the army, heather wilson, secretary of the air force, and james gerts, assistant secretary of the navy for ak we ziglaskk acquisition. I hope you all have seen the work by rand on this topic. That is why the department of defense needs acquisition reform, not just for efficiency or to save money. Simply put, we will not be able to address the threats facing this nation with the system of organized irresponsibility that the defense acquisition enterprise has become. We will be watching closely to make sure you do business differently and use that authority wisely. Second, while we have empowered the services, that doesnt mean you can go and do whatever you like. The Services Must let osd set strategy and policy and do real oversight. That means being transparent, providing data to and following the guidance set by osd. Agai
The next army secretary. Other nominees included the defense undersecretary for intelligence and for personnel and readiness and the assistant defense secretary who advises on weapons of mass destruction to the committee is chaired by her son senator john mccain. This is just under two hours. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] the Senate Armed Services Committee Meets today to consider the nominations of mark espers to be secretary of the army or robert l. Wilkie to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness Joseph D Kernan to be undersecretary of defense for intelligence and roberts were Nuclear Chemical and biological defense weapons. I would like to say that ive been pleased with the reaction of the secretary of defense and the administration being cooperative and responding to our questions and to our ability to carry out our responsibilities on the Defense Authorization bill. I think most members were happy with their briefing that we received concer